The Business Proposal

Chapter Nine

"What do you think?"

Ivy turned and found Ethan staring at her across their small table.

"It's just beautiful." Her attention returned to examine the restaurant. The walls were deep shades of patterned blue with simple lighting twinkling from above. A grand chandelier hung from the middle of the room, which provided the most light and set the mood for the whole restaurant.

It lent itself to romance, and she wondered whether Ethan had planned it that way. There were many other couples dining with them, which she was grateful for. She wasn't sure she would have been able to sit through dinner if all the attention had been on them. Though she knew most were sneaking glances at them when they thought they wouldn't be seen. It made her skin prickle, but she did her best to ignore it.

"I'm glad you came tonight." Ethan reached his hand over the table and covered hers.

He couldn't resist touching her. Even though holding hands was not enough, it was the most he could accomplish in the crowded restaurant.

The waiter saved Ivy from having to respond as they gave their drinks orders. Before Ethan could register what she was doing, she retracted her hands and placed them under the table.

It unnerved her how much his touch affected her. No one had ever made her feel more aware of her own body. Already her hand missed the warmth of his and her traitorous body yearned for his touch, despite how dangerous that could be. She had to remind herself just who Ethan Carter really was.

With the drinks ordered, and the waiter dispensed with, Ethan's attention returned to her.

She nervously twisted her hands under the table. "So...what brought this on tonight?"

She looked at Ethan whilst he thought about her question and realised it would be easy to fall for a man like him. He was handsome, smart, successful, but there was something more that she hadn't been expecting. He had an internal sparkle that made him stand out above everyone else.

"I just thought we could get to know each other better," he replied smoothly.

Although his voice had been warm, his eyes seemed to bore into hers.

She looked at him in bewilderment. He didn't seem like a man who would go to all this trouble just for the purpose of understanding her. In fact, she would bet her yearly salary that women probably fell at his feet. No need to take them out when he already had them eating out of the palm of his hand.

"Why don't you go first?" She picked up her wine glass, determined that she would not be the first to spill her life story to him.

His smirk told her he understood what she was doing, but that he would humour her, anyway.

As the night wore on, she found herself hanging on his every word. He seemed so sure of himself as he talked about everything from his family to his business. She couldn't help but respond to his honesty, sharing some of her own memories without thought.

Ethan watched, engrossed in every detail that she said. His heart felt lighter every time she laughed at his stories or when she smiled at him. He'd never been so turned on by a woman's smile before. He'd shared more about himself with her than all his previous girlfriends put together.

It amused him how much he was enjoying their night. He already knew they had physical chemistry, but the ease of conversation was something new to him. Rarely did he find people who he could converse with so easily, outside his family, and yet with Ivy he didn't even have to think about it.

The night had started as a way to know her better, and yet he felt he'd discovered something different. As unusual as it was to admit, he found he liked Ivy Thorn. It was a simple fact, and yet he couldn't wrap his mind around it.